Podcasts by Mountain Cloud Zen Podcasts
Santa Fe, NM
Further podcasts by Henry Shukman: Associate Master Sanbo Zen
Podcast on the topic Buddhismus
All episodes
Spring Retreat Talk 4, Gathering the Heart Mind with Valerie Forstman from 2023-05-16T17:00
Dwelling no-where, mind comes forth~ from the Diamond Sutra Heart mind directs us to the fundamental point of who and what we are. In Chinese there is one term for
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Spring Retreat Talk 3, The Boat is on the River with Valerie Forstman from 2023-05-09T17:00
Valerie explores the clarity and simplicity of Master Hogen who came to be known as the dharma eye of deep clarity. Focusing on Case 51 from Book of Equanimity, Valerie
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Spring Retreat Talk 2, The Stone Bridge: Crossing Over with Valerie Forstman from 2023-05-02T17:00
Something puts our feet on this path, starting from the ordinary dualistic world. Gradually, as we practice and practice, in some unguarded moment, everything falls away, and it’s just this.
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Spring Retreat Talk 1, Joshu’s Dog: Crossing Over, Fully Arrived with Valerie Forstman from 2023-04-25T17:00
Crossing over to the other shore is the heart of our practice and the heart of Buddha’s teaching. Eventually we realize that we were always on the shore, here and
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Dharmatalk: Diamond Sutra and Living Beings with Maria Habito from 2023-03-17T17:00
“Abiding no-where mind comes forth.” Maria Habito returns to Mountain Cloud’s zoom zendo and talks about the Diamond Sutra. When we enter deep silence, the diamond cuts through every notion
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Rohatsu 2022: Day 6, Vibes, Awakening and What then? with Henry Shukman from 2023-03-07T18:00
For this final Rohatsu talk, Henry looks at three questions. What are we doing here, just sitting with each other? What is awakening? and What then? We are living “it”
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Rohatsu 2022: Day 5, Cannot Get Wet, Cannot Get Dry with Valerie Forstman from 2023-02-28T18:00
In this talk from day 5 of the Rohatsu sesshin, Valerie picks up on the previous day’s talk by Henry where he presents the title and first line of the
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Rohatsu 2022: Day 4, Prajnaparamitra, The Heart Sutra with Henry Shukman from 2023-02-07T18:00
What is this practice? Why do it? Essentially, it’s all about slowing down and things falling away. Our very existence, our being gets simpler. Henry looks at the title and
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Rohatsu 2022: Day 3, All-Inclusive Awakening with Valerie Forstman from 2023-01-17T18:00
In celebration of Shakyamuni Buddha’s awakening, Valerie takes up the Head Chapter of the Denkoroku or Transmission of Light. “I and the great earth and all beings simultaneously attain the
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Rohatsu 2022: Day 2, What Matters Most with Henry Shukman from 2023-01-12T14:11:36
Henry asks the question, matters most? When you reflect on this question, have any open mind, beyond ordinary or day to day concerns. He asks, what is this experience and
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Rohatsu 2022: Day 1, Light Sitting in Light with Valerie Forstman from 2023-01-03T18:00
In this talk from the first day of the Rohatsu sesshin, 2022, Valerie offers a tribute to Sr. Elaine MacInnes, Roshi, who died a week ago and whose celebration of
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Dharmatalk: Zen Jhanas with Stephen Snyder from 2022-12-13T18:00
Guest speaker Stephen Snyder of the Jhana tradition visits Mountain Cloud and offers a teisho on the Buddha’s first and last practice. Jhana practice predates the Buddha by at least
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Dharmatalk: Life is Not Suffering with Rick Hanson from 2022-12-08T14:58:01
It is said that the Buddha teaches only suffering and its end, but what is suffering? Guest speaker Rick Hanson attempts to define this suffering, challenging that suffering is only
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Dharmatalk: Towards Healing with Peggy Sheehan from 2022-11-29T18:00
“We don’t study koans, we use koans to investigate our life.” ~ Maezumi Roshi Guest teacher Peggy Sheehan from Zen Center Denver says that koans have been a life long
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Dharmatalk: Complete Exposure of the Golden Wind with Matt Sweger from 2022-11-15T18:00
On this first day of Fall, Teshin takes up case 27 of the Blue Cliff Record, Unmon’s Complete Exposure. The Case reads as follows: A monk asked Unmon, “What is
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Dharmatalk: Each is All, All is One with Valerie Forstman from 2022-11-08T18:00
Upon being welcomed home from Germany, Valerie describes briefly what it’s like being thrown immediately into the chaotic activity of moving from her home in Dallas to Santa Fe: “Constant
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Dharmatalk: Coming Home, I am Already That with Valerie Forstman from 2022-11-01T17:00
In this talk – an offering of gratitude for the life of a beloved sangha member, Valerie turns to Case 41 in the Transmission of Light or Denkoroko. A monk
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Dharmatalk: The World Honored One, Just Sat Still with Scott Thornton from 2022-10-25T17:00
Scott explores Case 32 from the Gateless Gate, A non-buddhist questions the Buddha. The non-buddhist says, in all earnestness to the Buddha: I do not ask about words, I do
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Dharmatalk: Endless Depth of Field with Valerie Forstman from 2022-10-18T17:00
In this talk from our Thursday night series, Valerie takes up Case 26 of the Gateless Gate, Hogen’s “Two Monks Roll Up the Blinds.” The setting is in Master Hogen’s
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Dharmatalk: An Offering to the World with Shana Smith from 2022-10-11T17:00
“Your sitting is not for the world, it is the world.” How can our practice be an offering to the world? asks meditation teacher Shana Smith. The question arose from
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Dharmatalk: Valerie Forstman on The Two-Fold Truth: Genjokoan from 2022-10-04T17:00
“Showing their backs then their fronts – falling maple leafs.” ~ Ryokan “Resolving the matter of Life and death is of prime importance.” To explore this phrase which is recited
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Dharmatalk: Henry Shukman on Presence from 2022-09-27T17:00
“Your consciousness does not exist separately from what it contains” Henry explores presence from several different angles, including Internal Family Systems (IFS). The word presence includes some ...
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Dharmatalk: Within Practice We Meet Ourselves from 2022-09-19T17:00
Guest Speaker Karin Kempe of the Zen Center of Denver joins our Thursday Night Sit to offer a talk on Dogen’s statement, “Practice is Enlightenment, Enlightenment is Practice.” While this
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Dharmatalk: Infinitely Open, Endlessly Bright with Valerie Forstman from 2022-09-13T17:00
Valerie takes up case 29 of the Denkoroku, the record of the ‘transmission of light’ from Bodhidharma to Eka or Huike, as a way to explore the boundless clarity that
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Introduction to Meditation Weekend, Talk Two: All from 2022-09-06T17:00
“Love sitting in Zazen, as if putting out a fire on top of your head” ~ Dogen Valerie Forstman gives the second talk during the April Intro to Meditation weekend.
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Introduction to Meditation Weekend: Q&A 1 with Valerie Forstman from 2022-08-30T17:00
Description: This is Question&Answer session 1 from the Introduction to Meditation Virtual Weekend. Valerie Forstman is the speaker and teacher for this session. And, here’s a link to
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Introduction to Meditation Weekend, Talk One: What is the Shout? from 2022-08-23T17:00
Listen to this talk by Valerie Forstman from the April 2021 Introduction to Meditation Weekend Retreat. A talk at a Zen retreat is traditionally called a teisho which means, Presentation
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Introductory Day of Zen: Beginner’s Mind with Valerie Forstman from 2022-08-16T17:00
Valerie examines beginner’s mind and explores the question”what is Zen?” during our March 2021 one-day Introduction to Meditation retreat. Suzuki Roshi – a Japanese Zen master who brought Zen teaching
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Dharmatalk: Compassion and Curiosity, Part 1, Valerie Forstman from 2022-08-09T17:00
“Zen is awakening to the dynamic reality of the present moment…..Zen is finding love in all things at all times. ” ~ Ruben Habito Valerie explores Zen practice from the
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Dharmatalk: Case 20 from the Book of Equanimity with Valerie Forstman from 2022-08-02T17:00
“… Zazen has been described as silently not influencing anything …” Koans can provide helpful perspectives for dealing with the uncertainty of current world events. In this talk, Valerie Forstman
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Dharmatalk: Reflection on Dogen’s Fukanzazengi with Will Brennan from 2022-07-26T17:00
Description: Senior Student Will Brennan gives a dharma talk, offering reflections on Dogen’s Fukanzazengi, Recommending Zazen to all people. Will has recently been appointed as a Sanbo Zen Assista...
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Dharmatalk: Encounter of the Heart Retreat: Love (Part 6 of 6) from 2022-07-19T17:00
“Anyone who wants to gain enlightenment, do not enter.” Description: Valerie turns to Love, which knows nothing of rank and order. She looks at a koan from Keizan’s Transmission of Light
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Dharmatalk: Encounter of the Heart Retreat: The Invitation (Part 5 of 6) from 2022-07-12T17:00
“Who would waste the spark from a flint stone?” – Dogen Description: Anything could be that spark. Ryoun Roshi says “koans are a message from the oneness world.” They offer
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Dharmatalk: Encounter of the Heart Retreat: Zen’s Origin Story Q&A (Part 4 of 6) from 2022-07-05T17:00
Description: This is the Question&Answer companion to Encounter of the Heart Retreat: Zen’s Origin Story, Part 3. Valerie Forstman is the speaker and teacher for this session. And,
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Dharmatalk: Encounter of the Heart Retreat: Zen’s Origin Story (Part 3 of 6) from 2022-06-28T17:00
Description: Valerie explores Zen’s origin story about the flower, a smile and universal space, case six from the Gateless Gate. And, here’s a link to our YouTube video of this
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Dharmatalk: Encounter of the Heart Retreat: Stop&See Q&A (Part 2 of 6) from 2022-06-21T17:00
To be able to hear the dharma is truly rare. To do so we must: Stop and see, sit still and let go. Description: This is the Question&Answer
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Dharmatalk: Encounter of the Heart Retreat: Stop&See (Part 1 of 6) from 2022-06-14T17:00
Empty, new and utterly fleeting, arriving now but already done. Description: In this first Teisho from the Encounter of the Heart Retreat, January 2021, Valerie Forstman reminds us that this
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Dharmatalk: Nansen Kills the Cat from 2022-06-07T17:00
“… Does Nansen really kill the cat? …” Description: Maria Reis Habito gives a teisho on Case 14 from the Gateless Gate, Nansen Kills the Cat. And, here’s a link
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Dharmatalk: Meet your Life from 2022-05-31T17:00
Description: Natalie Goldberg gives an inspiring talk about Zen in action. She describes some of her background experiences in both Zen and writing and how they interact and nourish each
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Dharmatalk: Dosho Port speaks about his new book The Record of Empty Hall: One Hundred Classic Koans from 2022-05-24T17:00
Description: Dosho Port teaches with the Vine of Obstacles: Online Support for Zen Training and at the Nebraska Zen Center in Omaha, and he has been practicing Zen since 1977.
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Dharmatalk: Empty Hands from 2022-05-17T17:00
“We are always looking for the lack, like Eka (Huike) searching for his mind – this lack is so convincing and so untrue. It blinds us to who we really
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Dharmatalk: Reflection on Dogen’s Fukanzazengi from 2022-05-10T17:00
Description: Newly appointed assistant Sanbo Zen teacher Will Brennan offers reflections on Dogen’s Fukanzazengi, (Recommending Zazen for all People) about how to practice, why practice, a beginner...
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Dharmatalk: Three Simple Lines from 2022-05-03T17:00
Description: Natalie speaks about her new book Three Simple Lines: A Writer’s Pilgrimage into the Heart and Homeland of Haiku. The final section includes a short exchange with Sanbo Zen
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Dharmatalk: Introduction to Meditation Retreat: Abundant Advantage (Part 2 of 2) from 2022-04-26T17:00
“May each and everybody whether staying still or standing up have ten thousand blessings….Today I have advantage after advantage, now, please practice.” ~ Dogen Description: Valerie explores the dh...
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Dharmatalk: Introduction to Meditation Retreat: Invitation to Trust (Part 1 of 2) from 2022-04-19T17:00
“When you sit, the whole world is sitting… We really don’t have to do anything, just show up”. Description: The invitation of Zen practice is to sit with the world,
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Dharmatalk: Winter Solstice Retreat: Bright Light (Part 4 of 4) from 2022-04-12T17:00:34
Description: Valerie and Henry explore Unmon’s Bright Light, Case 84 from the Blue Cliff Record in this final talk from our 2020 winter solstice retreat. Valerie opens with the Great
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Dharmatalk: Winter Solstice Retreat: Beginner’s Mind (Part 3 of 4) from 2022-04-05T17:00
“… The knot of self has become untied …” Description: Henry returns to the basics of practice in this third talk from the 2022 winter solstice retreat picking up on
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Dharmatalk: Winter Solstice Retreat: The Origin Point (Part 2 of 4) from 2022-03-29T17:00
“… the awakening of Shakyamuni Buddha and the simultaneous awakening of all existence, past, present and future …” Description: To explore the origin point of practice in this second talk
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Dharmatalk: Winter Solstice Retreat: It’s All Empty (Part 1 of 4) from 2022-03-22T17:00:28
“… This moment – just as it is – is our reality. …” Description: Henry describes how meditation practice exclusively focused on awakening (kensho) can bypass the enormous gains practice
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Dharmatalk: Moving Toward the Winter Light from 2022-03-15T17:00
Description: Valerie Forstman explores the silence when Vimalakirti is asked, what is the bodhisattva entering the dharma-gate of non-duality (or the gate of not two)? Vimalakirti opens a portal to
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Dharmatalk: The Context of Practice from 2022-03-08T18:00
Description: Henry reminds us that training is our own work, effort, commitment and investment of time and energy. Yet the context of practice pulls us outside of ourselves, out of
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Dharmatalk: The Unadjusted Step from 2022-03-01T18:00:30
The unadjusted step is a way of naming this moment. Valerie Forstman Description: Valerie Forstman offers this post-election talk and acknowledges our deeply divided nation. She introduces the ta...
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Dharmatalk: Samadhi, Unification from 2022-02-22T18:00
“… samadhi … bringing together or unification …” Description: Our Sanbo Zen lineage has traditionally focused on kensho (sudden awakening) experiences which offer a complete, though often brief, sh...
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Dharmatalk: Fierce Compassion from 2022-02-15T18:00
“… This very moment is awakening ...” Description: Valerie Forstman’s dharma talk probes Case 23 from the Blue Cliff Record, Hofuku and Chokei on an Outing. Hofuku says “This very moment
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Dharmatalk: Bodhidharma’s Vast and Void from 2022-02-08T18:00
“… ultimate meaning of the holy truth … Vast and void, no holiness ...” Description: Guest speaker and Sanbo Zen teacher Hannelore Mueller opens this beautiful talk recognizing the seriousness
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Dharmatalk: The Oak Tree in the Garden from 2022-02-01T18:00
“… has a strange power to remove and delete delusions, concepts and unnecessary attachments ...” Description: Listen to this personal and powerful talk from Carmen Afable, Sanbo Zen teacher from
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Dharmatalk: Beginners Mind&Four Levels of Practice from 2022-01-25T18:00:19
“… The beauty of Zen is its simplicity. The challenge of Zen also is its simplicity ...” Description: This Sunday morning talk by Henry Shukman starts with a guided meditation
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Dharmatalk: A Precious Path from 2022-01-11T18:00:11
“… When we find a path and follow it … we will be able to say, this was a precious path ...” Description: Henry describes the heart break and love
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Dharmatalk: Dharma Master Hsin Tao from 2022-01-04T18:00:58
Description: Dr Maria Reis Habito describes her experiences and work with dharma Master Hsin Tao. Maria Reis Habito is the International Program Director of the Museum of World Religions, the
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Dharmatalk: Life and Death, Zen and God from 2021-12-28T18:00:04
“… from a Zen perspective God is indeed everywhere ...” “… Does a practice lead to God where one forgets about God?. ...” Description: Sanbo Zen teacher Marlis Muting discusses
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Dharmatalk: Courage to Grow, Henry Shukman from 2021-12-21T18:14:18
“… Have courage. Have trust. Let go. Surrender. Grow. ...” Description: Traditionally in Buddhism, there were three phases in the growth of practitioners. One must move beyond sati and samadhi
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Dharmatalk: A New Bodhisattva Path from 2021-12-14T18:00:47
“… how modern-day bodhisattvas may direct their efforts toward the benefit of all beings ...” “… Nondual, non-selfish engagement with the world is an essential part of our practice ...”
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Dharmatalk: A New Bodhisattva Path from 2021-12-14T18:00:47
“… how modern-day bodhisattvas may direct their efforts toward the benefit of all beings ...” “… Nondual, non-selfish engagement with the world is an essential part of our practice ...”
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Dharmatalk: Sound of Silence from 2021-12-07T18:00:51
“… the silence that is our very essence ...” “… The reality of silence knows no birth and no death ...” Description: In this talk, Migaku Sato Roshi discusses how
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Dharmatalk: The Great Matter from 2021-11-30T18:00:39
“… What holds us back from experiencing the boundless freedom of who we truly are? ...” Description: In the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in 2020, Valerie takes
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Dharmatalk: Bearing Witness from Deep Realization of Inseparability from 2021-11-23T18:00:41
Description: Henry talks about the corona-virus pandemic and endemic racism in America and what our practice offers as a solution to racism; bearing witness from deep realization of inseparability....
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Dharmatalk: Is Zen Buddhist? from 2021-11-16T18:00:21
“… Zen is a mechanism for letting go ...” “… One fruit of wisdom is not being so caught up in having our desires met ...” Description: Zen draws its
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Dharmatalk: Sosan, Doshin and Mu from 2021-11-09T18:00:57
“… The capacity to awaken is not something you have. It’s what you are ...” Description: In this talk given jointly by Valerie and Henry on the last day of
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Dharmatalk: The Sharpest Sword from 2021-11-02T17:00:29
“… Mu cuts through our false sense of separation...” Description: A monk asked Haryo, “What is the sharpest sword?” He replied, “Each branch of corral reflects the moon.” Taking up
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Dharmatalk: Mu from 2021-10-26T17:00:09
“… we must drop all the schemes and agendas we may bring to our sitting ...” “… I want to devote myself to the capaciousness of my heart ...” Description:
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Dharmatalk: Spiritual Habits from 2021-10-19T18:25:28
“… how we can make significant changes in our lives if we start out small ...” “… Little by little, a little becomes a lot ...” Description: Behavioral coach
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Dharmatalk: Spiritual Habits from 2021-10-19T18:25:28
“… how we can make significant changes in our lives if we start out small ...” “… Little by little, a little becomes a lot ...” Description: Behavioral coach
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Dharmatalk: No Choosing from 2021-10-12T17:00:52
“… Focusing on the breath, we learn how to tame the delusive mind ...” Description: Master Joshu features in several important koans in the Zen canon. He is often heard
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Dharmatalk: On Time from 2021-10-05T16:56:14
“… Reflect now whether any being or any world is left out of this present moment ...” Description: Valerie Forstman leads us through an examination of what it means to
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Dharmatalk: Mountains and Snow from 2021-09-28T17:00:52
“… The image of mountains is common to many spiritual traditions but is especially fitting for Zen practitioners ... “… This truth knows no obstacles anywhere...” Description: This talk was
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Dharmatalk: Mountains and Snow from 2021-09-28T17:00:52
“… The image of mountains is common to many spiritual traditions but is especially fitting for Zen practitioners ... “… This truth knows no obstacles anywhere...” Description: This talk was
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Dharmatalk: Mind At Rest from 2021-09-22T16:40:41
“… Bodhidharma Puts the Mind at Rest...” Description: Ruben Roshi has been both Henry and Valerie’s teacher. He is the guiding teacher at the Maria Kannon Zen Center in Dallas
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Dharmatalk: Ordinary Mind Is the Way from 2021-09-15T17:04:15
“… how everyday experience is actually as vast and boundless as outer space ...” “… By letting everything be, things have the intrinsic capacity to release themselves ...” Description: Resuming the...
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Dharmatalk: Enlightenments–One Mountain from 2021-09-07T17:00:21
“… Many flavors of awakening exist, constituting one mountain range …” “… If you’re lucky enough to get up the mountain, you’ve still got to come down again ...” Description: A
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Dharmatalk: Most Intimate, So Near from 2021-08-31T17:00:42
“… a world that is so near to us yet so well able to maintain itself that we needn’t do anything to influence it …” “… Zazen has been described
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Dharmatalk: Deepening of the dharma–Meditation, Talk, and Q&A from 2021-08-24T17:00:53
“… subjectivity of deeper states of meditation …” “… What is the price of rice?’ Why is that the totality of the human experience of awakening?” ...” Description: Following a
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Dharmatalk: The Silent Way from 2021-08-17T17:00:42
“… Sitting is the vehicle for discovering innate “awakened-ness.” ...” Description: Case 1 of the Book of Equanimity offers a beautiful example of how an awakened person might expound the dharma
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Dharmatalk: Being Open to Help–Q&A from 2021-08-10T16:00:06
“… Practice wears thin the veil between non-awakened and awakened experience ...” Description: The questions raised after this Sunday sitting and lecture touch upon kensho, or Zen awakening, and wh...
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Dharmatalk: Being Open to Help from 2021-08-01T17:00:01
“… to learn to surrender to forces beyond our control ...” “… From the Zen point of view, every moment is holy ...” Description: In continuing the discussion about levels of Zen
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Dharmatalk: The Whole Earth Is Medicine from 2021-07-29T01:50:35
“… Koans are invitations to pass through the gate of separation ...” Description: How can we learn through the pandemic crisis to let go of the sense of separateness that is
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Dharmatalk: A Koan for the World (3 of 3) from 2021-07-20T16:50:51
“… koan Mu can give us a glimpse of the boundless love that pervades the whole universe …” “… Whatever we’re not welcoming, that’s our great teacher ...” Description: Continuing on
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Dharmatalk: A Koan for the World (2 of 3) from 2021-07-13T17:00:06
“… join with human beings around the world in unravelling the great, global koan …” “… Oneness is a propertyof all phenomena ...” Description: This talk contains some practical advice
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Dharmatalk: A Koan for the World (1 of 3) from 2021-07-06T17:00:23
“… Our every step is taken on instability ...” Description: This talk is about opening up to uncertainty. We all tend to avoid uncertainty in our lives. When we encounter it,
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Dharmatalk: Unknown Territory: Original Love–Support (3 of 3) from 2021-06-29T16:52:54
“… the value of going into unknown territory ...” Description: In this final talk from our Original Love 2 (Support) retreat, Henry opens by exploring the value of going into
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Dharmatalk: Support: Original Love–Support (2 of 3) from 2021-06-22T17:00:49
“… Support comes in varying forms ...” Description: In this second original love retreat Henry focuses on a simple message: There is help. Henry asks us to hear and receive this
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Dharmatalk: Greater Good: Original Love–Support (1 of 3) from 2021-06-15T16:30:27
“… The focus of this talk … is about finding Trust ...” Description: How do we find our authentic heart and how do we know what it’s called to do for
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Dharmatalk: Just This: Original Love–Introduction (5 of 5) from 2021-06-08T17:00:15
“… Here and now, this experience we are having right now, is it. “Just this” is original love ...” Description: Henry continues his Original Love exploration, beginning with “Everything is
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Dharmatalk: Original Love&Inseparability: Original Love–Introduction (4 of 5) from 2021-06-01T17:00:02
“… A quantum shift occurs that exposes the inseparability of all ...” Description: Henry continues looking at original love. We humans are made in such a way that we can
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Dharmatalk: Support: Original Love–Introduction (3 of 5) from 2021-05-25T17:00:17
“… By becoming still and quiet, Zen opens a channel that provides deep, nurturing support ...” Description: In this second talk from the June, 2020 retreat, Henry continues to explore
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Dharmatalk: Allowing: Original Love–Introduction (2 of 5) from 2021-05-18T17:00:35
“… well-being which is what brings many of us into meditation ...” Description: Henry introduces the concept Original Love in this first talk from our 2020 Summer Virtual Sesshin. Original
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Original Love – Introduction (1 of X) from 2021-05-05T17:00:03
“… primordial absence in Taoism or emptiness in Buddhism ...” Description: Henry describes love as the origin. This origin is primordial absence in Taoism or emptiness in Buddhism. It’s basically c...
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Dharmatalk: Residing in Present Moment Experience: Original Love One – Mindfulness (4 of 4) from 2021-05-04T17:00:27
“… residing in present moment experience ...” Description: Final talk from the Original Love One Retreat. Henry concludes this series of talks on original love one. Residing in present moment exper...
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Dharmatalk: Finding Peace: Original Love One–Mindfulness (3 of 4) from 2021-04-30T17:00:18
“… how we human bodies find peace with ourselves ...” Description: Third talk from the Original Love One – Mindfulness Retreat. Henry continues the great exploration about how we human bodies
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Dharmatalk: Dealing with Desire: Original Love One–Mindfulness (2 of 4) from 2021-04-20T17:00:45
“How will we know when we have mastered desire? Tranquility marked by a sense that we are lucky to be living whatever life we happen to be living.” ~ Dr
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Dharmatalk: Love In Present Moment Experience–Original Love One (1 of 4) from 2021-04-13T17:00:36
“… Love that … manifests as a deep inner journey into who we really are…” Description: Henry Shukman opens this first talk in our Original Love Retreat by looking at
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Dharmatalk: Practice-Realization from 2021-04-06T17:00
“… taste the indivisible dynamism of the heart of compassion …” “… The slightest movement is a seismic gesture; the whole earth shaken to the farthest regions …” Description: In this
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Dharmatalk: Loving Awakening from 2021-03-30T17:00:56
“… clinging to identification with the self … the sense organs …” “… Words cannot touch it. No words cannot touch it …” Description: In this talk given during the 2020
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Dharmatalk: Gathering of the Heart from 2021-03-23T17:00:36
“… Joshu is still sitting. I can’t but sit …” Description: In this talk given on the second day of the Spring 2020 sesshin at Mountain Cloud, Valerie takes up the
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Dharmatalk: Awakening to Love and Compassion from 2021-03-16T17:00:11
“… the very first line of the {Heart} sutra links Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of love, mercy, and compassion, with awakening and liberation …” “… What does it take to just grow
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Dharmatalk: The Flipside of Impermanence from 2021-03-02T18:00:14
“… Every moment, if I pay attention, I feel a way I’ve never felt before. It’s totally new! …” Description: The main part of this compilation of talks consists of a
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Dharmatalk: Inquiry into Experience from 2021-03-01T18:00:17
“… Zen is an effortless practice. It’s just letting go …” Description: In these two short talks given at the Esalen Institute in January 2020, we hear about Zen’s emphasis on
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Dharmatalk: The Intersection of Yoga and Zen from 2021-02-23T18:00:06
“… who we are in the present moment–this very moment …” “… Housebuilder, I have seen you! You will never build your house here again …” Description: In this dialogue,
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Dharmatalk: Seeing through the Self from 2021-02-16T18:00:46
“… Nothing changes, but everything changes, through the path of meditation …” Description: In these talks, given during the 2020 Esalen meditation and yoga retreat, we consider certain questions a...
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Dharmatalk: The Intrinsic Healthy Self from 2021-02-09T18:00:47
“… into the joy of present moment awareness …” “… The healthy self lives in the world of form, not desire …” Description: In these talks, which were given on the second
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Dharmatalk: The Bright Light Within from 2021-02-02T18:00:23
“… with training of the mind through zen, and of the body through yoga, discover the luminous self …” “… Awakening is the radical tearing up of the separation between
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Dharmatalk: Case 97, Book of Equanimity: Emperor Doko’s Helmet Hood from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
“Any sense experience is boundless and empty.” Description: This inspiring talk explores the beautiful simplicity of Case 97. Emperor Dôkô says, “I have attained the treasure of the Central Plain.”...
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Dharmatalk: Case 96, Book of Equanimity: Kyuho Does Not Acknowledge (Part 2 of 2) from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The fact of being is an utter mystery. Description: The focal point of this multifaceted talk is the seven-line verse by Master Sekisô in Case 96. Practice gives us a framework for seeking. What is...
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Dharmatalk: Case 96, Book of Equanimity: Kyuho Does Not Acknowledge (Part 1) from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Each thing is itself a miracle. Description: What is a koan? Why are they used in Zen training? In the story of each koan, we are the main character with an opportunity to become clearly aware of o...
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Dharmatalk:Already One: 2019 Spring Sesshin (Part 4 of 4) from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
“…and the deepest level of communication is not communication, it’s communion.” ~ Thomas Merton Description: This is the final talk of the Spring 2019 sesshin. It is a “key points” summary of the ...
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Dharmatalk: Case 95, Book of Equanimity: Rinzai Draws a Line (Part 2): 2019 Spring Sesshin (Part 3 of 4) from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Where have you come from? ~ Rinzai. Description: This is the third talk of the Spring 2019 sesshin. It begins with further reflections on the process of settling into a multi-day retreat and explo...
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Dharmatalk: Case 95, Book of Equanimity: Rinzai Draws a Line (Part 1): 2019 Spring Sesshin (Part 2 of 4) from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
“… You are the innate beauty of the whole cosmos, the whole of creation …” Description: This is the second talk of the Spring 2019 sesshin. To begin, methods to address difficulties that may arise ...
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Dharmatalk: The Other Power from 2021-01-26T18:00:35
“… Usually with training, we can become more and more creators of wellbeing …” Description: This short talk, given on the final day of the 2019 Winter Sesshin, offers words of
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Dharmatalk: Excess of Happiness from 2021-01-19T18:00:17
“… as an affirmation of the absolute unity of all …” “… How can there be suffering if there is no one who suffers? …” Description: In this further exploration of the Heart Sutra from the 2019 Winte...
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Dharmatalk: A Heart Retreat from 2021-01-12T18:00:41
“… sutra is conveying the great love and fundamental energy that pervades throughout the universe …” “… Hating our suffering and fighting against it will inevitably make it worse …” Description: Th...
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Dharmatalk: A Goad for Training from 2021-01-05T18:00:28
“… This being here like this is a marvellous arising of a mirage …” Description: This talk, the second one given during the 2019 Rohatsu Sesshin, further discusses the group of lines from the Heart...
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Dharmatalk: Firsthand Experience from 2020-12-29T18:00:40
“… Practice is always, only about this moment …” Description: The first talk given during the Winter Rohatsu sesshin of 2019 continues an ongoing exploration of the Heart Sutra by looking, in parti...
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Dharmatalk: Negation as Strategy from 2020-12-22T18:00:55
“… The Heart Sutra puts forth the radical assertion that knowing is delusion, and not knowing is most intimate …” “… This is not a morning talk on Zen …” Description: The word “no” gets repeated ov...
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Dharmatalk: The Wisdom before Knowing from 2020-12-15T18:00:23
“… We, our mind, the world we experience with our mind; are all the same …” Description: In this first talk given during the Fall 2019 sesshin, we continue our former discussion about the Heart Sut...
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Dharmatalk: The Land of Neither, Nor from 2020-12-08T18:00:59
“… we need only learn how to let go of our body, mind, feelings, senses and consciousness as naturally as leaves letting go their stems and falling to the ground in autumn …” “… Emptiness is the mo...
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Dharmatalk: No Other from 2020-12-01T18:00
“… Just come and sit, and let the flower of your heart open …” Description: This talk explores the second two sentences of the Heart Sutra: “Form is no other than emptiness; emptiness no other th...
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Dharmatalk: The Loving Fount of All from 2020-11-24T17:59:42
“… dwelling in perfect wisdom, we too may begin to discover the eternally selflessly giving love that nourishes all of creation …” “… True giving must mean relinquishing control …” Description: The...
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Dharmatalk: Great Mother Prajna Paramita from 2020-11-17T18:00:28
“… Real knowing is not-knowing …” Description: This talk explores the meanings of the word “Prajna.” Commonly translated as wisdom, the word etymologically comes from pra-jna. “Jna” is a root word ...
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Dharmatalk: A Lineage of Humility from 2020-11-10T18:00:04
“… To be you, fully alive, that’s your greatest offering to the universe …” Description: A zen practitioner may spend decades studying under a teacher before they themselves can be authorized to te...
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Dharmatalk: Right Concentration from 2020-11-03T18:00:30
“… start to experience the intrinsically fulfilling wellbeing of the lotus flower … permeated from its roots throughout the tips of its petals with the same cool water in which it thrives in perfec...
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Dharmatalk: Bringing the Mind Home from 2020-10-29T17:00:26
“… mindfulness … is a practice of becoming okay with what we have …” “… We have to let be, to let go …” Description: Ongoing series on basic Buddhism. The practice of mindfulness is not about addin...
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Dharmatalk: The Process of Letting Go of Everything from 2020-10-20T17:00:36
“… You can only see it when you are it …” Description: Ongoing series on basic Buddhism. Human beings tend to get constantly captivated by their “default mode network,” which can generate a continu...
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Dharmatalk: The Zone of Phenomena from 2020-10-13T17:00:06
“… The principle of zen is: body and mind fall away …” Description: Ongoing series on basic Buddhism. Having reached the fourth aspect of mindfulness, which is the seventh fold of the Noble Eightfo...
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Dharmatalk: Dharmas within Dharmas from 2020-10-06T17:00:25
“… We observe the unfolding of our awareness like a butterfly … opening up its wings …” “… Let the breath show itself to your awareness …” Description: Ongoing series on basic Buddhism. In our expl...
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Dharmatalk: The Four Foundations of Mindfulness from 2020-09-29T16:45:20
“… Letting it be as it is, we have to drop the wish that it be otherwise …” Description: Ongoing series on basic Buddhism. To achieve concentration in practice, one must have established the four f...
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Dharmatalk: Right Mindfulness from 2020-09-22T17:00:59
“… bringing awareness back to the present moment whenever our minds wander …” “… Here, a person dwells, contemplating the body in the body …” Description: Ongoing series on basic Buddhism. The orig...
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Dharmatalks: Cultivating Meditative Awareness from 2020-09-15T17:00:33
“… In our right effort we are developing the capacity to work on the unwholesome …” Description: Ongoing series on basic Buddhism. Right effort in practice, the sixth fold in the Noble Eightfold Pa...
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Dharmatalk: Right Livelihood from 2020-09-08T17:00:39
“… It’s almost as if there’s no point practising unless we attend to how we’re living …” Description: Ongoing series on basic Buddhism. Buddha taught that when following the way of Right Livelihood...
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Dharmatalk: The Reorientation of Intention from 2020-09-01T17:00:02
“… Right Action is part of the undertakings that are necessary if we are to pursue the path of awakening …” Description: Ongoing series on basic Buddhism. Right Action in the Noble Eightfold Path w...
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Dharmatalk: The Integrity of Our Words from 2020-08-25T17:00:03
“… we discern how to act morally as we tread between the Oneness that we encounter in meditation and the multifariousness of the world we live in …” “Thank you very much, I have no complaints“ Desc...
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Dharmatalk: Expanding Altruism from 2020-08-18T17:00:49
“I want to devote my life to the wellbeing of the world“ Description: Ongoing series on basic Buddhism. Do we have free will to act morally, or is our behavior merely a function of our social condi...
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Dharmatalk: Gathering in to a Single Point from 2020-08-11T17:00:59
“There isn’t any phenomenon at all that isn’t teaching or preaching the Dharma“ Description: Ongoing series on basic Buddhism. Buddha taught that in order to cultivate Right Orientation, which is t...
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Dharmatalk: Embarking on the Noble Eightfold Path from 2020-08-04T16:45:59
“Right View is not so far away“ Description: Ongoing series on basic Buddhism. Setting out on the Noble Eightfold Path, we begin with Right View. By developing an awareness of the roots of wholesom...
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Dharmatalk: Subitist and Gradualist Awakening from 2020-07-28T17:00:01
“This precious me. My me. This has been an invention” Description: Ongoing series on basic Buddhism. Continuing the discussion about the cessation of suffering, we examine two approaches toward awa...
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Dharmatalk: The Cessation of Suffering from 2020-07-21T17:00:12
“Unshakable is the liberation of my mind” ~ Shakyamuni Buddha Description: Ongoing series on basic Buddhism. The Third Noble Truth concerns the cessation of suffering. When Buddha gave his first se...
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Dharmatalk: Letting Go of Clinging from 2020-07-14T17:00:53
“Loss brings us to our senses. It actually gives us our life” Description: Ongoing series on basic Buddhism. In continuing the series of talks about the Four Noble Truths, we examine clinging from...
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Dharmatalk: Seeking to Satisfy Dissatisfaction from 2020-07-07T17:00:21
“When there really is just this, there is no place for thirst, or craving” Description: Ongoing series on basic Buddhism. We begin to address the Second Noble Truth: that the cause of suffering is...
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Dharmatalk: Developing Compassion with Equanimity from 2020-06-30T17:00:38
“Suffering can be the door, or the path, to practice and training” Description: Ongoing series on basic Buddhism. Continuing the discussion of the first of the Four Noble Truths: How can we transf...
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Dharmatalk: Aligning with Reality from 2020-06-23T17:00:32
“Who is it who dies?” Description: Ongoing series on basic Buddhism. The themes are: dukkha, dissatisfaction or suffering; Buddha’s instruction on illness and death; the eight worldly conditions; ...
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Dharmatalk: The Problem of Suffering from 2020-06-16T17:00:39
“Buddha understands suffering so well” Description: Ongoing series on basic Buddhism. It begins with the story of Sujata who nourished Siddhartha Gautama with milk-rice under the banyan tree. The ...
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Dharmatalk: Buddha Was A Woman from 2020-06-09T17:00:26
“Why does Buddha have to be a man?” Description: Ongoing series on basic Buddhism. It addresses the absence of women in most early Buddhist texts and explores the story of Mara who tries to preven...
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Dharmatalk: Been All Along from 2020-06-02T17:00:39
“Life only happens now” Description: Ongoing series on basic Buddhism. With a focus on how Buddha, the Awakened One, became Buddha, the Dharma teacher, it begins with reflections on the first two ...
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Dharmatalk: Venus Twinkling from 2020-05-26T19:00:35
“I and all beings have simultaneously attained the Way” ~ Buddha Description: This is the first in a series of talks on basic Buddhism, beginning with an exploration of the word Buddhism and the st...
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Dharmatalk: Zen and the New Story from 2020-05-19T19:00:11
“The place of stillness is where we find the “sprouts of the new story” …” “Zen is loving the earth …” Description: In this powerful talk, touching on quantum mechanics and the work of Charles Eise...
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Dharmatalk: Case 100, Book of Equanimity: Roya’s “Mountains and Rivers” from 2020-05-12T19:00:31
“Meditation is bound to fail if it is being done to fix a problem.” ~ Barry Magid Description: In Case 100, a monk asks Master Kaku a question and the master’s response itself is showing the monk t...
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Dharmatalk: Shimmering Particles from 2020-05-05T19:00:43
“The ‘story of me’ fell away utterly and completely.” ~ Francis Bennett Description: This encouraging talk begins with excerpts from the book I Am That I Am by Francis Bennett. Zen practice allow...
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Dharmatalk: Case 99, Book of Equanimity: Unmon’s “Bowl and Pail” from 2020-04-28T19:00:32
“You can’t see the Way; you can discover that you are the Way“ Description: In Case 99, a monk asks Master Unmon, “What is the dust-dust samadhi?” This term, also translated as moment-by-moment sam...
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Dharmatalk: Spreading the Love from 2020-04-21T19:00:35
“… The Way is always waiting to show itself in every single moment …” Description: Beginning with some reflections on the book American Veda, this talk unfolds into a discussion of the Zen poem “Sh...
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Dharmatalk (Guest): Ruben Habito: Zen Eye on Good Friday from 2020-04-14T19:00:27
“… And suddenly the darkness turned into a bright and luminous light …” Description: In this brief Zen talk on Easter weekend 2020, Ruben Roshi walks us through a famous Zen koan from the “Gateless...
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Dharmatalk: One Infinite Gratitude from 2020-04-02T19:00:07
“… Zen practice offers stillness and silence …” “…dissolving the great Gordian knot of self …” Description: Gratitude for Buddha, Dharma and Sangha unites all the divergent streams of Buddhism. Thi...
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Dharmatalk: Case 98, Book of Equanimity: Tozan’s “Intimate with It” (Part 2 of 2) from 2020-03-26T18:00:36
“Zen is a template for letting go …” Description: This talk revisits the three bodies of Buddha and maps them onto the various approaches to Zen practice, including mindfulness. The Dharma-body is ...
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Dharmatalk: Case 98, Book of Equanimity: Tozan’s “Intimate with It” (Part 1 of 2) from 2020-03-19T18:00:28
“… the single, infinite, empty fact that is always, powerfully, right here, now …” I am always most intimate with it. ~Tôzan Description: This talk begins by addressing the difference between conce...
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